Archive April 29, 2025

Graduates of Chelsea Academy typically have one of the following well-trodden paths: breakthrough, loan, first team, or breakthrough, loan, sale.

The Blues have sold on more than 40 graduates for about £400 million in the last ten years, but Tyrique George’s most recent high-profile prospect has local talent like Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, and Reece James leading to first-team success.

Since Callum Hudson-Odoi scored against Burnley in January 2020, George’s strike against Fulham on April 20 at the age of 19 years and 75 days made him Chelsea’s youngest goalscorer in the Premier League.

The winger has played almost 600 minutes in 10 Conference League games, including a goal in the first leg win over Legia Warsaw in the quarter-final first leg against Barrow and Morecambe, as well as in Carabao Cup games against Barrow and Morecambe and in substitute league games against Arsenal and Brighton.

He appears well suited to face Djurgarden in the Conference League semifinal on Thursday, which could strengthen his standing.

George turned 19 in February, and he is reversing that old-fashioned “Chelsea” narrative thanks to a level of dedication that is unusual in a time of academic youth development.

Six months after signing new contracts with defender Josh Acheampong in June 2024, George was promoted from the academy team to the first team.

Numerous academy sources at Chelsea questioned the signing of a three-year contract with an optional fourth year.

Since the ownership change in 2022, there was speculation that he might be lost among the £1 billion in talent, which included another summer influx of talented young players.

George was given a chance by Chelsea’s head coach Enzo Maresca in the offseason, according to sources, and the Italian’s support contributed to his Stamford Bridge success.

Chelsea first saw George playing for TFA Totteridge FC in Whetstone.

At the age of eight, he enrolled in their development center program, where he met then-first team breakthrough stars Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Lewis Baker, and signed up for a fully fledged academy.

However, a source informed BBC Sport that George was a “middle” player in his age group up until about the age of 10.

George’s father hired a goalkeeper as well as a personal trainer, David “Gurus” Sobers, to improve both his game and his performance at Chelsea at the time.

George would begin his training with Chelsea in midweek, and starting at age 13, he would start playing in South London’s Vauxhall or Nine Elms Power League nine-a-side games.

Before returning to Chelsea on Sunday, he would practice on Saturdays once more and go over post-game analysis with Sobers from his Power League games the night before.

As I believed I could assist him, Sobers said, “I used to spend hours on public transportation taking two-hour or longer sessions with him.”

We would spend hours working on one-on-one, technical, and shooting drills, and I liked how much he exerted himself. When he played against 18-year-olds, I would be a “bad” referee, so he would be kicked, but he would have to step up and get the ball back.

We practiced tactics during these matches on Friday. I believe it helped our young players, as well as the players who are currently employed at Reading, West Ham, and Manchester City, overcome their fear, especially when returning to their own age group.

George spent a number of years training with Unique FA, an elite academy, with the caveat that he would only play with players who were a few years his senior.

Sobers continued to work with George and said that Ty’s persistence in doing the fundamentals and repetition inspired him.

He always wanted to work hard, but we didn’t force him; it was all about being exceptional while remaining humble.

In one of those South London games, George had a chance to meet with former Chelsea winger Jadon Sancho, who was on the verge of leaving Manchester City for Dortmund in 2017.

I and my dad were attending training, George said. We watched Sancho with his friends, and I remember Sancho’s highlights from that time.

I was nervous, but I did, and my dad told me to get a picture.

Tyrique George is a top man, top guy, and such a humble person, according to Sancho earlier in the season. Every chance that comes his way should be given to him.

Before making his Premier League debut in January, George gained experience from Europe’s third-tier competition and domestic cup competitions.

This season, he has now made 21 appearances across all competitions, including two goals, four assists, and one assist.

George stated in a December interview that “Enzo gives me a wonderful feeling.” He and I have been training together for the entire season.

Maresca impressed in his interviews with Chelsea about his player knowledge, including the academy, before joining the club. He will have known that George was nominated for goal of the season for a strike against Crystal Palace after racking up a total of 33 goals and assists last season.

According to those who have been in touch with George, he has had additional encouragement behind the scenes since the Boehly-Clearlake regime’s transition of ownership, with Joe Shields, director of recruitment and talent, cited as a key advocate behind-the-scenes.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s absence, which he is currently temporarily suspended, has undoubtedly helped George, who is also allegedly failing a drug test.

Colwill, a fellow academy graduate, said of George this month: “We know how good a player he is, so coming in and scoring hopefully gives him that confidence boost and hopefully he keeps pushing to try to get into our side.

After the opening session of their World Championship quarter-final, four-time world champion John Higgins seized advantage of Mark Williams’ errors to take the lead 5-3.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and two of the sport’s greatest players, both of whom Ronnie O’Sullivan is a part of, make up this tie.

Since Steve Davis did it in 2010, at the age of 52, Williams, 50, became the oldest man to reach the Crucible, while Higgins turns 50 on May 18, a 13-day break from the final of the tournament.

Both men were introduced to the audience, and both men were given a fantastic standing ovation before playing some premium snooker.

Higgins was in control after a 69-foot break, but Williams should have leveled before the Scots, who had a 65-foot break, took the frame.

The Welshman’s first frame was a 72-pound effort, but he missed a brown in the fourth frame, which cost him as Higgins only managed to get three frames in a row.

Higgins would have wanted to extend his lead by 5-1, but Williams did well with breaks of 104 and 59.

China’s Zhao Xintong won the other match of the morning session to advance to the quarter-finals against Chris Wakelin.

The Englishman defeated former world number one Mark Allen in the final 16 of the main competition, defeating 2010 world champion Neil Robertson in the opening round, and then made it through two rounds of qualifying to the Crucible.

After making a break of 93 to start the frame, Zhao, a 28, won six games in a row, even though Wakelin led 6-2 as the match ended at 19:00 BST.

One of ten Chinese players who was banned as a result of a match-fixing scandal was Zhao, a former UK Championship champion.

He accepted the accusations of being a party to another player who had already fixed two matches and had himself bet on matches without actually playing a match. Only one of the ten players sanctioned by the scandal to have returned to action, serving a 20-month ban for those offenses.

He was removed from the World Snooker Tour as a result of the suspension, but he has already made arrangements to return to the tour full-time next year.

When the ball can be hit for a six, why not hit a single?

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 14-year veteran batting sensation, posed the question to one of his first professional cricket coaches.

Former first-class cricketer for Jharkhand, Manish Ojha, recalls that “Vaibhav was hitting sixes and fours off almost every ball.”

“Vaibhav, I asked after the session: “Why are you only hitting boundaries? We will need more singles to attend the state matches because it’s a four-day affair. He responded, “Sir, if I can hit a ball for six, why would I take a single off it?” When I realized that he was prepared for the next level.

The teenager became the youngest player to record a century in men’s T20 cricket on Monday, lighting up the most glamorous of the cricketing fields.

In a spectacular 38-ball innings that included 11 sixes and seven fours, he batted for the Rajasthan Royals and the Gujarat Titans.

Vaibhav’s IPL debut was significant. From the first ball he faced, he made a six-footer and scored a hundred in his only subsequent appearance.

He quickly showed promise in his small district of India’s Bihar, Samastipur. Sanjeev Suryavanshi, the father of Vaibhav, who is also a professional cricketer, noticed a spark in his son. However, he started his training at home when he was five because there were no recognized academies in the neighborhood.

Sanjeev, who once owned a small shop, realized that his son needed a reliable coach. Vaibhav’s father, then, decided to transport him to Patna city, a three-hour drive away.

What are you doing, many people would ask him. However, he was the first to acknowledge Vaibhav’s abilities, according to Bihar coach Robin Singh.

His father had to sell a plot of land to make sure his son received the best training and access to the best facilities. His mother also had to give a lot of sacrifices. She would even send food to the coaches when she woke up at three in the morning to get him breakfast.

In no time did Vaibhav impress his new coaches.

“I found him to be a lot different from other people when I began working with him.” You would demonstrate a technique or a test to him immediately, Ojha said, and he would pick it up.

“The majority of players just get along with it in practice, but they fail when it comes to playing games.” However, Vaibhav had a unique ability to execute everything flawlessly, even during high-pressure matches.

Vaibhav always outperformed his peers in terms of age. He would stand out from the crowd for his strokeplay and game awareness.

We realized we were wasting his time after ten days of playing alongside children his age. So we began letting senior players practice with him,” Singh said.

Vaibhav would face 450 balls each day and practice daily from 730am to 4pm. By the time he was 12 years old, his coaches had the confidence to allow him to play cricket professionally.

He consistently put up runs for the Bihar under-19s team, which led to the selection of him for the India under-19s team. In a youth test against Australia, he smashed a 58-ball hundred, aged only 13.

He soon made Bihar’s squad for the Ranji Trophy (India’s premier first-class competition), and Rajasthan signed him for a sum of 106 789 (1. 5 crore rupees), making him the youngest player to ever hold a contract at an IPL auction in December 2024.

Brian Lara, Vidhy’s role model, and he plays the ball on merit without any issues, Ojha said.

We had anticipated that Rahul Dravid, an icon of India, would be able to offer him an IPL contract, and our excitement increased when Rajasthan Royals signed him.

Suryavanshi has already been referred to as “Boss Baby” in cricket circles by those who believe that Chris Gayle, also known as “The Universe Boss,” is comparable.

Nobody else has scored a faster time in the IPL than West Indian Gayle, who also easily surpasses Maharashtra’s Vijay Zol’s 18 years and 118 days for the fastest T20 century, which was previously held by Maharashtra’s Vijay Zol. He still holds the record for the fastest IPL century, having taken just 30 balls in 2013.

The greatest run-scorer in history, Sachin Tendulkar, made his India debut at the age of 16; Suryavanshi’s former coach believes he will soon join The Little Master in the national team.

A Bihar native from a small village has made it to the IPL. He is the subject of a whole new conversation. He also is adept at opening doors. If he achieves this soon, don’t be surprised, said Singh.

Before that, Suryavanshi, who has received almost £9, 000 from his state government after his IPL century, will face-off against the world’s best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, at the Mumbai Indians on Thursday.

The Football Association argued that Mark Bullingham, who had “met and exceeded robust targets,” was paid £1.32 million last year, including a £450, 000 bonus, in response to his compensation.

Bullingham is regarded as the UK’s highest-paid chief executive of a sports governing body.

The 50-year-old earned a salary of £869,000 and a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) bonus for the fiscal year that ended in July 2024.

The sum of £1.32 million is an increase over the previous year’s increase of more than 55%.

Despite operating losses of nearly £40 million, it was revealed that Rugby Football Union CEO Bill Sweeney pocketed £1.1 million in November after receiving a bonus of £358, 000 to go along with his £742, 000 salary.

According to the FA’s annual accounts, which was released on Tuesday, the company made a net profit of £49.7 million and had a turnover of £551.2 million for the year, up £69.4 million from the previous year.

According to an FA spokesperson, the turnover is “the equivalent of a FTSE 250 company,” so the chief executive’s performance-based compensation package must be competitive to “attract and retain high-calibre executives.”

Mark led the company in achieving our 2020-2024 strategic objectives, as stated in the statement.